Vickie Howell Montoya Merino

Montoya Merino

I’m truly excited to announce my very first private label yarn, Vickie Howell Montoya Merino, a lush, squishy, heavy-worsted, 100% superwash merino yarn hand-dyed in 12, saturated shades. It’s the perfect go-to yarn for anything from cap to cardigan, and pillow to pullover!

Montoya Merino is named for my original last name as an ode to my family’s New Mexican Spaniard heritage. Each color gives a nod to the Southwest.

The Montoyas came to New Mexico in the 1600s. Although she and her family moved to California (where my dad was born) for the 2nd half of her life, during my paternal “granny’s” (see photo above) life span, that area of land was a country, territory, and then a state!

As the only child of my dad and his many siblings to be given a family name (after their oldest sister, Vickie, who died before I was born — above), I’ve found myself drawn to preserving and celebrating that part of my culture.

All that to say, although I hope the term “maiden name” will go extinct, it did seem fitting for my maiden voyage into the Vickie Howell brand of yarns (for which I hope there will be many in the future) to be named after my root moniker.

Thanks for humoring my personal story, and as always, for supporting our small business. I hope you love Montoya Merino as much as Team YarnYAY! and I do!